The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) -- a federation of more than a dozen public safety communications organizations -- has gone on record as sharing the ARRL’s concerns regarding HR 607, the Broadband for First Responders’ Act of 2011. The ARRL is actively opposing the legislation in its current form because Section 207(d) of the bill -- introduced in the US House of Representatives by Representative Peter King (R-NY-3) -- calls for the reallocation of 420-440 MHz for commercial auction. The ARRL, which is a member of the NPSTC Governing Board, has assured NPSTC members that its opposition is limited to Section 207(d) and that it supports the underlying objective of the legislation, which is to provide spectrum near 700 MHz for a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.

Writing to ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, on March 8, NPSTC Chair Ralph Haller said: “We want to let you know that NPSTC’s Governing Board understands your serious concerns about Section 207 of this Act, and we share those concerns.” While reiterating NPSTC’s support for the remainder of the Act,  Haller said: “NPSTC is very concerned about Section 207(d) of the Act and believes that the section needs to be amended to address the concerns of public safety and the Amateur Radio users.” See a copy of the letter below.

Commenting on Haller’s letter, Sumner said that “it is gratifying to have the support of the NPSTC Governing Board in our effort to remove this provision from Rep King’s bill. Once our concerns have been satisfied, we hope Congress will proceed quickly to complete work on providing our First Responders with this important facility.”